How do I MWO?

[MahrinSkel]

Started to put this in the CW2 thread, then figured I might not be the only one looking for something to do with his Christmas vacation.

So is it time for me to actually start playing? I didn't for a long time because it brought my computer to its knees, whimpering. Then I've been busy with school and without CW, it didn't seem like it was worth getting into.

Assuming that my system (GTX 870M, i7@2.8ghz, 8gb RAM, SSD) can handle it, how would one go about starting to play now, if they didn't want to spend much (or any) money? I might be able to scrape up $20-50 if I really had to, but there's no way I'm investing more than that on spec. I can turbo up my system if I really need to, it's got a lot of cooling headroom right now, so I guess what I'm really wondering is how to go about playing without access to all of the shiny pay2win toys.

--Dave

EDIT: BTW, I don't know WTF is up with these people posting sub-2000 scores on Passmark with the 870M, mine scores around 3900. A little better than GTX 760 Ti or Radeon HD 7850 desktop cards

[Shannow]

Honestly I have no idea if your computer can run MWO or not, I dont even remember whats inside my box. Its two years old and runs the game fine.

I would suggest sinking some money in the game to maybe by a hero/champion mech or two. Though figure out what sort of mechs/weapons you like first. Also if you're interested in CW you might want to figure out if your going clan or IS. Your first 20? matches or so come with a substantial cbill bonus so that can go towards buying your first real mech.

I'm sure Hoax and Falcon have more and better advice.

[Hoax]

If you are actually starting from complete scratch and want to spend as little money as possible this is what you do:
-Play every single Inner Sphere trial mech.

Your goal is to find out the following:
-how fast you need to go to feel good
-how big and tough you need to be to feel good
-what ranges you like to fight at, either because you enjoy them or you are effective
-what style of mech do you like: hit and run, snipe and hide, ridge hump, walk into them and brawl, etc.
-what weapon systems just make you happiest
-what cockpits make you unhappy

Once you've played enough games to answer most of those questions based on all the trials you post back here and you can get really exact advice on how to get 4 mechs ready for CW (you need 4) asap while spending as little money as possible.

Things to remember:
-LRM's are amazing against bad players, but get steadily worse until they are useless against organized great players. Basically LRM's are only good when you are firing them and taking zero return fire because they will never trade in a firefight as they are slow to deliver damage and their damage spreads.
-Damage is a way to judge how much you did but not the best way. Bad players can get high damage scores without helping the team because they are aren't coring out enemies or just robbing them of firepower they are just making sure they hit and hoping for the best.
-Step 1 to not being completely worthless is use your map, never be caught out completely alone and make sure you never die in the first 2-4 on your team. Once your doing those things consistently your way ahead of the worthless retards that overflow solo queue.
-Step 2 is to remember that MWO is a game of trades, never trade poorly. That's most obvious in terms of firepower but its also in terms of positioning and cover/height/map control.

When you have more info, it'll be easier to give useful advice that you need.

Oh and please don't join these factions: Steiner, Davion or Clan Wolf. If you do I can no longer help you.

[MahrinSkel]

Way back in the MPBT days I was a generalist, probably in the top 5 for all 4 weight groups (there were single-chassis gods who could beat me consistently in a particular weight class, but only a handful of those and nobody else who could switch up the way I did). I literally invented "ABC, Always Be Coring" in Solaris group play. Close quarters turn and burn in the Javelin-F or Wasp-W (light laserboats with jets) was probably the most fun, but I could adapt to nearly anything and was as good at hunt-the-pixel sniping as anyone.

Obviously MWO is a lot different, and being older I may not have the pin-point hair-trigger reflexes anymore (my god, it's been nearly 20 years since Solaris.  HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? WHY AM I SO OLD??!!). So yeah, I guess I'll just thrash around in the free mechs until I figure out what I'm good for.

What do people use for controls?  Keyboard and mouse, or (left-hand) joystick and mouse, or console-style double-stick controllers? I tend to use weird control setups, actually played MPBT with a SpaceOrb, if anyone remembers those.

--Dave

EDIT: Actually, it was a Spaceball Avenger, if anyone is old enough to remember them.  This thing:

http://spacemice.org/index.php?title=Spaceball_Avenger

[Sir T]

Is you like fast jump with lotso lazors then the foul Jenner or Spider might be your Mech du jour. And I will hate you on principle.

[Falconeer]

I definitely would advice against spending money on it until you know what you like. Sure you could invest 10 bucks into a 30 days Premium, those are hardly wasted as you would get more money regardless of what you use opening up more options for when you'll set your mind on something specific and expensive, but especially now that there's a lot of trial 'mechs you should really play around as much as you can until you have a better understanding of what you like to play. This cannot be done on paper. Sure "if you like being slow and well-armed, then..." or "if you like mobility and hit-and-run, then..." sounds reasonable, but the gameplay here is original enough to invalidate any expectation. You just have to try stuff on the field to avoid dumping time and money on a kind of 'mech that you are not gonna enjoy.

It is a great time to join MWO. The game is clearly in its best shape ever, both in balance and content terms. The company (IGP) that was plaguing the project has left the building, weekly challenges are a fun diversion, maps have reached a decent number and they are diverse enough (especially if you are new), there's a really big number of 'mechs with interesting perks for each variant, and most importantly Community Warfare which is the single most awaited feature is coming next week after a two years delay.

There is a lot that can be improved (that's why it is in "its" own best shape), but this is simply the best time to get into MechWarrior online. After they have ironed out two years of bullshit, and before it gets too old for anyone to care.

[Shannow]

I use keyboard and mouse and never had a problem. MWO is basically a FPS.

[Sir T]

Yeah, its very FPS in its controls.

I would advise you to do the singular tutorial mission, then pick a few trial mechs and run around the "training grounds" which are basically the maps with some inactive mechs scattered around for you to shoot at. once youa re confortable with the mechs and know which ones you wan t to try running about THEN start the precious 25 cadet matches. Once you have the 25 done you should have enough cbills to buy any mech out there and fit it out with double heat sinks and stuff.

[Falconeer]

Yes, let me second and third that: it's an FPS. A slow-motion one, but still an FPS. So mouse and keyboard is the only way to play it.

[Sir T]

It also has elements of world of Tanks to it as well as an FPS.

[Lantyssa]

I'd say Keyboard+Mouse is better.  I tried hooking up my joystick and it was damn hard to control.  It may be possible, but it'd require a ton of tweaking.

[Pennilenko]

The only way to win is to not play the game.

[MahrinSkel]

I'd say Keyboard+Mouse is better.  I tried hooking up my joystick and it was damn hard to control.  It may be possible, but it'd require a ton of tweaking.

I'm weird: I use the joystick as a keyboard substitute in a lot of FPS games. Being able to move in something besides the 8 cardinal directions in an intuitive manner seems to throw others off and let me make maneuvers that are just too finicky for keyboard control. Any game with a significant vertical component, it seems to help.

--Dave

[Sir T]

I've seen someone on twitch use a joystick, so it can be done.

[Samprimary]

Keyboard and mouse is good. Left hand joystick and mouse is also good.

Joystick aiming sans mouse is bad and makes you a bad person who deserves the pain and frustration you incur for yourself.

Play all the trial mechs you have. Use up all the win multipliers on every mech you have.

AT PRESENT the best recommendation I can give you is this: in any match that starts to go hopeless, suicide charge the enemy, get a few shots in, die, and leave the game immediately so that you can join another one in another trial mech. As long as you actually contribute .. err, "contribute," this is totally fine. Don't waste time in slogs that go south. Sit back and relax and watch other players whenever you feel like it, though. Charge through your cadet starting bonus.

Then, you have two options. The easy way, or the better way

EASY WAY: buy a mech you can afford with this cash

BETTER WAY: save for a Timberwolf and make it your absolute first purchase.

This is a hard merciless slog in trial mechs but it's honestly worth it. The Timberwolf is the second best mech in the game and has very VERY accessible maneuverability and survivability. It basically runs and turns like a medium, has heavy armor, and can carry a payload equivalent to most IS assaults. And can have jump jets.

[Samprimary]

Also I can quite certainly state that if you or anyone else intends to make an account and flat out purchase a mech? NO DON'T LET ME I'm willing to do the slog for someone else in return for spacebux on my account

[MahrinSkel]

I've seen someone on twitch use a joystick, so it can be done.

Yeah, looking over some relevant threads on the MWOMercs site, it looks like they support a joystick properly (as an analog controller) so i will be able to use my old Saitek Cyborg. Love that thing, nothing newer has quite the right feel (The FLY 5 from Mad Catz is closest, but won't switch hands), but there are no drivers to support it anymore and I didn't want to have to hack together my own macro-converter for the analog zones. Combine that with a Logitech G700, and I'd be all set...except that my fricking university firewall won't play nice with MWO. I'll wait until Christmas break, then when I get back I'll chat with the guys in IT about whether they're going to open those ports for me or force me to hack their system and do it myself. ;-)

--Dave

[MahrinSkel]

Okay, my piloting is bad and I feel bad: 5 matches, 1 win, 5 deaths, no kills.  Obviously I am doing something wrong, the "something" seems to be getting fixated on a target and getting drawn into a crossfire of lasers, missiles, and cannon shots that chews me up in seconds.

Is there something special I need to do to accept the invite? I saw all the friend invites and accepted them, but I don't see the unit invite.

--Dave

[Falconeer]

I forgot the Unit invite, sorry. Fixing that now.

About everything else, the rule number one of MechWarrior is: USE COVER.

Seriously, it seems obvious but this cannot be stressed enough. Time To Kill is too long for inexperienced players so there's pretty much never a good reason to stay in the open for longer than 5 seconds to shoot someone. Instead, you slowly learn to play by keeping yourself safe and alive and shooting when your whole unit is charging or when an enemy has been more careless than you. Considering how hard it is to get out of enemy fire when you are in the open (due to the abysmal speed of the 'mechs), and considering that the rule of the thumb is that it takes you a minute to kill someone but it takes them a couple of milliseconds to vaporize you, you could say that there's very few FPS where positioning is as important as in MWO.

Also, snowball effect is real in MWO so it's important to stay alive and not let your team be overwhelmed. Focus on surviving first, hurting enemies will come with time as you'll learn to see opportunities. Another good tip when you begin is: check the heaviest 'mech in your party and stick to them, let them lead. See what they do and provide support to them.

[MahrinSkel]

I still suck, but at least now it's because I have lousy map awareness. I'm getting better at hit and fade, but I don't know the cover and routes well enough. When I do well, it's pretty good, but most of the time I still get blindsided into a crossfire and shredded.

Not sure how common this is, but right now there's a sale on all of the Hero and Champion mechs, along with a few others.  I pulled the trigger on a 12K money pack, but haven't actually spent any of it yet.

A lot of the problem on spending the money is that I'm pretty sure I'd like stick-and-move/ridge-humping sniping, but without the augmented zoom, it's not really viable, and they cock-block that behind a 5K GXP wall.

Do any of you ever actually play? I have never seen anyone online in the unit roster.

--Dave

[Shannow]

5k GDP ain't that hard to get with the free premium time and stocking stuffer event going on right now . That being said I only use the zoom on my dbl gauss Ilya .

[Falconeer]

I am out of town so not playing at all, sorry. But when I play, it is almost certainly in a different time zone than you. On top of all that, some of us have been playing on and off for two years (!) so it's mostly logging in for a few casual games than anything more serious than that. While I still go through recurring phases where I log in every day and get obsessed about playing for three hours straight, it's not like that at the moment and I don't feel like undergoing all the changes and testing that is happening right now with CW too much. I still love the game, but I know it's not going anywhere so I can manage a healthier relationship than before. Heh.

[Kail]

Got unfortunately drunk the other night and made a string of hasty purchases, one of which was the $20 Marauder pack for this game, so I figure I may as well give it a shot again.  My mech stable now consists of three Maurauders and my Locust, named "Victim".

Anyways, just checking if the advice here is still accurate?  Save up for Timberwolf, buy Timberwolf, profit?  I notice that there are some cheaper looking assaults (like the King Crab) which might be good...?  Also, I was checking the real money store and it looks like the Timberwolf is still like 50 goddamn dollars, is that right or did I hallucinate that?  Speaking of which, how do you unlock color schemes and things, is that real money only?  Because holy shit this could get expensive fast.

Also, is there a reason not to just go all assault mechs all the time?  Other MW games I've played have limited tonnage or something, but I haven't seen anything in this game that indicates that you want anything other than the heaviest mech with the heaviest armor.  My poor Locust just pokes his head around the corner and instantly has a hundred new acquaintances who want the kill credit for it.  Last time I asked about this, someone suggested the Kitfox C, is that still a thing that works, or would you rather have another Atlas or something on your team?

Also, WTF is arm locking?  The tutorial says that you can disable arm locking with shift and the forums and streams are always bitching about noobs not disabling arm locking but I have no idea what it does.

[Sir T]

Arm locking means is disabling the feature of your arms move somewhat independently of the torso. So if you have arm locking disabled you turn your torso right your arm weapons will be slightly ahead of the torso weapons. Also if you are looking up your arm weapons can aim higher than your torso weapons. Its the o on your reticle.

Locking your arms leans that your entire top acts as a big turret with everything locked to your target reticle.

To be honest even a complete crap player like me lives having my arms giving a little but of extra arc, so those complaining Vets probably just want to stop people using arm movement so they have an edge over anyone foolish enough to listen to them. Its called forum PVP, spreading false info so you wont actually have the challenging fight you claim to want.

[Shannow]

You do not have to own Timerwolfs or only Assaults to MWO.  Frankly that's terrible advice. First off remember this is a game.  Make it fun. Find mechs and play styles that you enjoy playing!  For instance I own exactly one clan mech (and only because i won it through luck) and have only just now found an assault mech I like. I love playing lights and meds and can do some serious damage with them. When I get bored I save up my cbills to try a new mech.

Also check the website often to find out what challenges are going on or for free stuff. I picked up 7 days premium just for subscribing to the newsletter. Usually there is a challenge each weekend where you can earn free stuff, a good time to grind.

Don't play CW in pug queue. Only do it in teams who are organized and on voice comms.  Even then it can suck at times.

Focus less on the grind and more on enjoying the actual combat. 

[Evildrider]

I play 90% of the time in a light or med. mech.  I am suck at almost anything that goes less then 90kph.   

[Falconeer]

Simply put, Assaults are not even remotely the BEST 'mechs in the game. Sure, they do more damage and can endure more, but everyone shoots at them first and they can't get away.

It is a matter of playstyle. Personally, I just can't do SHIT with an Assault. No matter how much damage you can put out you are often the first one to die unless you understand very well how to use cover at such low mobility, and have a group that supports you. This is not to say that Assaults can't melt faces, but when they get it bad they make you feel like a sitting duck like no other weight class.

You could say that some classes are easier than others, and that some 'mechs are even easier, but I'd say that the first statement is false and it's all dependent on your preferred playstyle. The second statement, sadly, is absolutely true.

[Kail]

Focus less on the grind and more on enjoying the actual combat. 

Yeah, the problem for me is that the mech lab is like 75% of what I enjoy about these games and tinkering is EXPENSIVE here.  I want to shave a few tons off the engine in my Marauder, that's going to cost me almost two million by itself.  Decking out my Locust will cost like four or five times what the Locust itself cost.  And I don't even know if the changes will be good or not, might want to change something ELSE.

Having a lot more fun this time around, otherwise.  The ranges are still kind of weird, I was expecting the PPC Marauder to be a sniping mech but it deals very little damage to targets outside 1k and it's minimum range of 90m means you can hit almost anything that's not kissing you.

Novas are on sale this week, and given how much I loved them in MW2 I might grab one, but I'm not sure how you can fire 12 medium lasers without instantly exploding.  Anyone have any experience with the Nova, or any of the other mediums on sale this week?  I've already got a light (Locust) and a heavy (Marauder) and I'm hoping to get a King Crab when they go on sale, but I don't have a medium yet.

[Evildrider]

Clan mechs are really expensive to get into if you aren't already there.  You have to buy all new weapons and gear to outfit them, that is seperate and a bit more expensive than IS gear.  Oh and a Nova will melt if you alpha 12 med. lasers.     If you are going to get into clan mechs I'd probably say go for the Stormcrow first.  Although those aren't on sale.

[Ironwood]

I bought all 3 Novas.  They're utter shite.

[Evildrider]

The Nova is at least getting a rescale.